The federal government may soon name the 18 banks owing almost N250 billion naira to Nigerian telecom operators on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and have remained unmoved towards settling the debts for several years.
The FG is reported to have given the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) go ahead to publish the names and approve that telcos withdraw services to them if after two weeks they fail to settle the debts, according to news reports.
It will be recalled that the issue of banks’ multi-billion naira USSD debt to telcos has lingered since 2020, rising from below N40 billion to N57 billion by the end of 2021 and N80 billion in 2022.
But now, the telcos claim the debt has risen above N250 billion and accused the banks of not complying with the repayment plan.
The recent development, cannot be unconnected with a December joint meeting between the two regulators, NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which resolved that the banks pay part of the money by December 31, last year and defray the remaining gradually.
However, Vanguard gathered authoritatively that only four banks complied with the directive, while 18 others are still adamant.
Similarly, when the matter brewed heavily a few years ago, the National Assembly, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Nigerian Communications Commission, waded in and also generated such a gentleman’s agreement, which gave the banks leverage to defray the debts gradually.
A few weeks ago Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), accused the banks of deliberately frustrating any move to resolve the issue and threatened that the only option, since the banks have consistently failed to honour the agreements, would be to withdraw the support that gives the USSD platform life.
